Filed under: Earnings/Financials , GM , Toyota , Volkswagen , Car Buying , Daihatsu Although there were hints and allegations that the Volkswagen Group might have taken the global sales crown for 2014, the final tally puts Toyota at the top for the third year in a row with 10.23 million sales in 2014. Volkswagen Group came second with 10.14 million units sold, General Motors came third with 9.92 million units sold. In 2015, however, the top two positions are expected to swap. Continue reading Toyota holds onto crown of World’s Largest Automaker Toyota holds onto crown of World’s Largest Automaker originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Jan 2015 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: BMW , Honda , Nissan , Toyota , Car Buying , Car Dealers , China Chinese dealers have long submitted to the power of foreign automakers, but with inventories out of control and only 30 percent of dealers operating at a profit, the situation has gotten so bad that the country’s largest dealer body has complained to the government. Continue reading China’s largest dealer body pushes back against foreign automakers over huge inventories China’s largest dealer body pushes back against foreign automakers over huge inventories originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Jan 2015 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising , Videos , Lexus , Toyota , Car Buying Automotive News article says the Lexus December to Remember campaign started in 1998 that helped turn December into one of the biggest months of the year for car sales. Before that – and “that” wasn’t that long ago – December was close to last in sales because no one seriously considered buying a car for Christmas. Continue reading How December changed from a near-worst to a near-best car selling month [w/video] How December changed from a near-worst to a near-best car selling month [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Dec 2014 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: Car Buying , LA Auto Show , Crossover , Toyota Toyota just unveiled the 2013 RAV4 at the 2012 LA Auto Show , and according to a report in Ward’s Auto , the automaker already has high hopes for strong sales of its new model. Bill Fay, Toyota’s vice president of marketing, is expecting sales of 200,000 units in 2013 – a jump over the projected 170,000 RAV4 models expected to be delivered in 2012. Since 2008, the RAV4 has never sold anything close to 200,000 units; the model’s best year in recent times was 2010 when 170,877 models were moved. But with this all-new 2013 model, Toyota is hoping to capture a larger chunk of younger buyers – folks who might normally look at the Ford Escape and Mazda CX-5 . “It has an awful lot of capability for the younger buyer, so we’re hoping to get a little more share of that,” Fay told Ward’s Auto . In addition to completely new styling and better refinement, the RAV4 loses its V6 option for 2013. The only engine offered will be Toyota’s 2.5-liter inline-four, good for 176 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque, and able to achieve highway fuel economy as high as 31 miles per gallon when paired with front-wheel drive. The 2013 RAV4 hits dealerships in January. Pricing will be announced closer to the vehicle’s on-sale date. Toyota gunning for 200k RAV4 sales per year originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:29:00 EST.

Filed under: Chevrolet , Ford , Honda , Nissan , Toyota African-Americans purchased 641,090 new vehicles in 2010, accounting for 7.4 percent of all new vehicle sales. That’s a significant portion of overall sales, and a population segment that Toyota appears to be winning over. R.L. Polk released a study showing that Toyota accounted for 15 percent of all new car sales to African-American car buyers last year. Ford came in second at 11.7 percent, followed by Chevrolet , Honda and Nissan . The top five automakers accounted for nearly 60 percent off all new vehicle sales to African-Americans. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that the African-American population will grow by 25 percent by the year 2030. In 2010 alone, auto sales among African Americans rose by 11.5 percent versus 2009. That’s 68.6 percent faster than the non-ethnic market increase of 6.8 percent, meaning that automakers would do well to reach out to this burgeoning customer segment.